Stargazing
by Aurelie Saint Juste
Summary: As they acclimate to their new lives together in Corona, Rapunzel harbors some inner guilt over the final moments in her tower. Eugene sets the story straight.


"Were you scared?" asked a curious voice, breaking the blissful, relaxing silence of a golden autumn afternoon. Rapunzel, recently-found Princess of Corona propped herself up on her elbow, her green eyes examining the resting face of her consort who was laying comfortably beside her on the blanket spread across the grass, his hands tucked behind his head.

The pair had slipped away from the endless hallways, giant ballrooms and expensive artifacts of the Palace to have a late-afternoon picnic on the emerald green lawns that overlooked the sparkling, clear bay. Rapunzel's obsession with the outdoors was insatiable, and after eighteen years of being locked in a tower, Eugene could never deny her a walk on the expansive grounds or a visit to her bustling kingdom square. Pending, of course, they could disappear without being noticed by one of her many royal chaperones, a reality that happened all too infrequently for his tastes.

Today's escape had been the result of meticulous planning on his part, bolstered by a heavy dose of luck. They'd enjoyed a varied menu of whatever Eugene could pilfer from the kitchen, and Rapunzel filled him in on all of the many things she'd learned in her etiquette and history courses. Everything had been perfect until the conversation turned to a confusing expose on Eugene's fear.

Eugene's eyes opened slightly, and a sly grin played on his lips. "I'm not afraid of anything, Blondie, I mean, all things considered, I've seen death and not even that could stop Flynn Rider."

The first sign that something was off was when his Flynn Rider bravado couldn't get her to crack a smile. Or at the very least, roll her eyes.

"But I'm not asking Flynn Rider. I'm asking Eugene Fitzherbert. Were you scared?"

The afternoon sunshine was starting to give way into the first vibrant splashes of a pink and purple sunset. Rapunzel sat up and locked her eyes on his. He could tell that there was an idea that she was processing, a question that needed resolution. Her face softened, there was a hint of sadness in her features, he could tell that whatever was on her mind was not entirely positive, and that didn't sit well with him.

"Scared of what, Rapunzel?" Eugene sat up, his eyes leveling with hers. Rapunzel's hands instinctively went towards the ghost of what was once long golden hair. It was an old habit that still plagued her. Several weeks had passed since Eugene had taken the razor-sharp shard of mirror to her hair, but she still hadn't fully acclimated to her shortened locks.

When she remembered that there was no hair over her shoulder to quell her anxiety, the princess swallowed hard, her arms wrapping themselves around her torso as if they were protecting her from the direction she was leading the conversation.

"When…" she paused for a long moment, weighing the rest of the statement in her mind and on her tongue, "When you died."

Rapunzel caught her lower lip in her teeth, as if the gesture would retract the words she'd just spoken. She looked away quickly, breaking their eye contact and focusing on one of the highest spires of the castle.

It was a subject that neither of them were prepared to discuss in full. Both Eugene and Rapunzel knew what transpired in the shadows of her tower. Everything happened so quickly for him - being sprung from prison, Maximus racing to get him to the tower, his ascent, Gothel stabbing him, the searing, white hot pain that pulsed through his body muddied his recollections of the fine details of what happened and in what order, but the fact that she saw it all - every detail burned into her memory - was a point of guilt and horror that Eugene wasn't prepared to discuss.

He hadn't gotten there in time. Eugene remembered his elation when her golden hair was thrown from the window… and how his heart broke when he saw her in chains.

He had never felt guilt before Rapunzel.

It felt like an eternity before Eugene finally replied, his voice thick.

"Yes."

Rapunzel turned her gaze sharply to him.

"Yes," he repeated, "I was terrified."

Her breath hitched. He continued, "I had failed you once, I wasn't able to get to you in time to prevent those shackles from closing around your wrists. But when that," he grimaced, "When I felt that blade, I knew that dying then and there meant that two lives ended. That I truly had no way to save you."

Eugene spotted tears sparkling at the corners of her eyes and debated whether or not he should continue. "Rapunzel, I've lived my life without any real consequences. I did what I wanted, when I wanted, and I didn't ever care about what sort of repercussions my actions had on other people. But when you forced yourself into my life… something just… changed inside of me. At first, I hated it. I hated that I had somehow become accountable for you - I hated that I cared about your welfare more than I cared about that stupid tiara and living a life I thought I wanted. I resented you for putting me on a detour from my end goal of fabulous wealth." The corner of his mouth raised in a slight smile despite the heavy conversation.

"But I found that I liked my life an awful lot better when I started to come to terms with the fact that caring for you wasn't all that bad. And… and just as I'd realized how much better life could be with you in it, you were stolen from me."

He reached a hand to his princess' cheek. His thumb brushed away the tears that came freely now, and it only took a moment of silence before she moved herself to close the distance between them, burying her face in his neck.

Admittedly, this was not how he thought their late afternoon escape would go, but it didn't stop him from wrapping his arms around her as she cried into his shirt.

"I'm sorry you saw all of that." He said simply, "I'm sorry I scared you."

"D-do you regret it?" Rapunzel said softly into his neck, afraid to make eye contact with him. Her grip was tight on the front of his soft leather vest.

"What?"

"Do you regret it? Eugene, you _died._"

"Rapunzel."

"I caused you so much trouble - I almost had you drowned. You risked life and limb for me to see some paper lanterns in the sky just because I had some insane notion that they were for me. You bled to death in my tower trying to save me! How could you not resent me? How could you not be angry… how can you look at me and not think about those things?"

"Rapunzel, stop."

"I caused so much trouble." She whimpered between growing sobs, shrinking away from him and pulling her knees to her chest, resting her forehead on her knees. "People died - _you died - _because of me."

Eugene knew that this meltdown was a distinct possibility, from the moment he carried her mentally and physically exhausted body across the bridge into the town square that fateful night. How could any one human being have to deal with the realities that she faced and come out of it with no emotional scars?

"And I would do it again and again if it meant that you could live."

His dark eyes were locked on her, his mouth a firm line across his face. Eugene wasn't sure of a lot of things, and he joked about even more, but never had truer words passed his lips. His voice made that crystal clear.

"Do you know that when I look at you, I can't get past how beautiful you are? Or how brave? I can't help but think that when it's your turn to take that throne, how much your subjects are going to adore you for your optimism and kindness. And your creativity. And your loyalty. And your sense of adventure." His brow softened, he reached out to her tentatively, "Rapunzel, never in a million lifetimes would I ever look at you and _resent_ you. In so many ways, you saved my life."

Rapunzel's tears had stopped. She peeked up above her crossed arms over her knees to examine him, her eyes scrutinized him the same way they had the first time she'd seen him, sprawled across her tower floor.

"Rapunzel, I love you."

Her breath stopped.

There was a moment where Eugene looked a little surprised by his own words. His hand ran through his hair, trying to process the words that had just escaped his mouth, or maybe trying to remember the last time - if ever - those three words had crossed his lips. In the handful of weeks they'd been back in the kingdom, their time together was dictated by propriety. They weren't even supposed to be out on the lawn together without one of her handmaidens within earshot.

Suffice it to say, there hadn't been a moment alone since that time in the tower where those three little words could be spoken without an audience.

"What." She finally whispered.

"I… I love you." He repeated, taking one hand from where it had dropped to her side, and using his free hand to cup her cheek. He was relieved and filled with an indescribable warmth when she relaxed into his palm, "And this moment - and so many other little things you do and say and are - this moment makes everything worth it.

"Promise me that you will never apologize or feel even a moment of guilt for any part of our story. Without all of that - would we be here today?"

She nodded, her lower lip trembling.

Eugene closed the distance between them, his lips pressed gently against hers. Any tension left in Rapunzel's body melted as she brought her arms around his neck, one small hand threading its fingers into his dark hair. It didn't take much for the kiss to be deepened, but it was impossible to say by whom. This sort of contact was utterly forbidden within the palace - they had resorted to hiding in unused rooms or unreasonably deep linen closets to steal kisses. But to be unchaperoned in the growing darkness…

A soupçon of bravery egged Rapunzel on, emboldened by his confession. Her lips parted slightly, her tongue exploring his mouth tentatively, desperate for deeper connection with her consort. Eugene's shoulders stiffened, but she could see the conflict in his eyes.

He broke the kiss, but it was with the pained look of a desperate man. He pressed his forehead to hers, looking defeated.

"Rapunzel we have to—"

"No… no we don't," She said, "We can just stay out here all night, if anyone asks, we'll tell them we were looking at the stars…" she suggested, with a small grin playing on her lips. Eugene laughed lightly, elated to see the light return to her features. He didn't have long to enjoy the sparkle that returned to her eyes before he felt her mouth against his neck, her teeth gently scraping across the sensitive skin below his ear, one hand sliding down from around his back down his side. He closed his eyes, but it took all of his self control to not act on the desires playing out in his mind.

_Where did she learn that._

"Rapunzel th-this isn't a good idea."

Her fingers were struggling to free the metal clasps at the front of his vest, desperate to feel the warmth of his chest.

She had no idea what she was doing to him. She had no idea what she was doing, period. Her technique, by the standards of some of the other ladies Flynn Rider once found himself in the company of, was sloppy at best, but the fire that pushed her on took his breath away. Eugene was caught between panic over being discovered and overwhelming desire to reciprocate the actions she was lavishing on him.

With most of the clasps undone and his vest hanging open, Rapunzel brought her lips to his once more. She pressed a long, sweet kiss to his mouth and averted her eyes sheepishly to examine her hand, slipped under his linen shirt pressed against his skin over his heart. Her eyes closed, the look of concentration on her face reminded him of how serene, but focused she looked when she healed his bloodied hand.

She felt the staccato pulses of his heart and smiled.

"I love you," Rapunzel said simply, her eyes open to meet his gaze, her forehead still pressed to his.

The moon was beginning to rise. They really would be out stargazing.

Eugene detangled himself from Rapunzel and laid back, resuming his spot on the spread blanket with his hands behind his head. He fixed his gaze on the darkening sky as he considered all of the countless things he was desperate to say to her. For the first time in his life, he was at a loss for words with a girl. Not just any girl - a girl he loved, a girl he died for.

"People will start to notice we're gone," Rapunzel mentioned, a hint of nonchalance in her voice.

He removed one hand from behind his head and offered it to her, "Let's watch the stars for a little while." he suggested. She smiled and laid back beside him, resting her head on his shoulder, one arm draped across his chest, finding its new favorite spot over his heart.

A/N: I won't sugar coat this: I have no idea how this happened. Aeons ago, I enjoyed RPing and diving into parts of stories/movies/books that weren't fully explored whether for time or for immediate plot relevance, and I've been obsessed with filling in some of the moments that I dreamed would exist in Tangled, my favorite story. It has been a long time since I've sat behind a keyboard and "penned" fan fiction, and I'm anxious about sharing this little drabble with others, but in an effort to get some of my pent up creativity out there... well, here you go.

I do not have a beta system in place, and my editing processes mostly involves me walking away from my computer for days on end and revisiting the nonsense I've written over time, so please excuse any mistakes that could be rectified with editing. :)

I hope you enjoyed, and as always I love feedback and I would be especially interested in forging relationships to co-write or even RP out some plots.


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